The court proceedings involving a man charged with eight counts of animal cruelty for allegedly starving his bison ended in a mistrial Feb. 11, after he was charged for a separate incident in which he fled the court Feb. 6 and led police on a chase.

Dennis “Denver” Shoop, 73, was charged with eight counts of first-degree animal cruelty in April 2018, after Terry Taylor, animal control officer with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, received calls from people who saw one of Shoop’s bison lying dead at his property in Chimacum.

“The jury announced they were deadlocked on Monday morning after almost 1 1/2  days of deliberation,” Deputy Prosecutor Julian St. Marie wrote in a news release. “The court announced a mistrial on all eight counts as well as on eight lesser included counts of animal cruelty in the second degree as proposed by defense.”

On Feb. 6, in the midst of his trial in Superior Court, Shoop fled the courtroom and was involved in a police chase, which led to a new felony charge for evading police.

“At about 2:20 p.m. Feb. 6, Mr. Shoop stood up and announced that he needed to leave the courtroom, and then proceeded to do so, despite being told to stay by Judge (Keith) Harper,” said Trevor Hansen, chief civil deputy with the sheriff’s office.

Hansen said the judge issued an arrest warrant when Shoop did not come back to the courtroom.

“I and other deputies at the courthouse searched the courthouse and grounds but did not locate Mr. Shoop,” Hansen said. “I asked for assistance from the Port Townsend Police Department.  This ultimately led to him being contacted by PTPD officers and later arrested by JCSO deputies in Chimacum.”

According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office report, Port Townsend police officers attempted to arrest Shoop, but he fled in his car.

“The man pleaded with officers to shoot him,” said the Sheriff’s report. “Officers followed the man with lights and sirens until ending the pursuit shortly after he ran a red light at Mill Road.”

Deputies encountered Shoop again in Chimacum, where they used a pursuit intervention technique to bring his vehicle to a stop just past the Chimacum Corner Farmstand.

Shoop was safely placed under arrest and booked at the Jefferson County Jail, stated the report.

In addition to the felony charge for evading police, Shoop was charged on Feb. 7 for bail jumping and contempt of court for disrupting proceedings. In court that day, Shoop said he was having a medical emergency when he left the courtroom.

“I asked for medical help,” Shoop said. “Am I supposed to sit there and die? All you had to do is leave me alone and get me medical help.”

Prosecutor St. Marie argued Shoop had endangered pedestrians and other drivers and said he was a “significant flight risk.”

The bison case will be retried if the parties cannot reach a resolution short of trial, St. Marie said.

The bison have been under the care of Center Valley Animal Rescue, where veterinarian Sara Penhallegon has worked to rehabilitate them.

“The animals were weak and staggering,” said Penhallegon, who testified during the trial. “You could see their hip bones and spines sticking up.”

“The lightest was about 400 pounds,” Penhallegon said. “An average adult male should weigh about 2,000 pounds.”

Penhallegon said if the state won the trial, the bison would be surrendered to the care of Center Valley Animal Rescue. She said the shelter has plans to transfer them to the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, a 1,400-acre animal sanctuary in Murchison, Texas.

“These animals have been in a bad condition for many years,” Penhallegon said. “He had been given recommendations in the past and ignored them. We have a pet food bank. There are resources out there. You have to take the help when you can get it.”